The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) organized the ICWA Young Scholars Conference on ‘India and the Reformed Multi-Polar World Order’ on 6 October 2023 at Sapru House, New Delhi. The Conference saw the participation of young research scholars from 19 universities across India, who came together to discuss how a rising India is impacting the shaping of a New World Order and the emerging trend towards an increasingly multi-polar world marked by reforms and a redistribution of power. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute, New Delhi.
In her welcome remarks, Amb Vijay Thakur Singh, DG, ICWA highlighted the mega trends that are visible today in global geopolitics, such as the consequences of the Ukraine crisis, the growing North-South divide, East-West polarisation, weaponization of financial systems, impact of climate change and rapid advancements in technology. Elaborating on India’s responses to these trends, she stated that India has exercised strategic autonomy, solidarity with the Global South and acted as a bridge and consensus builder as was evident at the recent New Delhi G20 Summit. In his keynote address, Dr. C. Raja Mohan highlighted that an increasingly multipolar world had implications for power and power distribution. The distribution of power and its impact on international relations is a central question. We need to understand what options and challenges the current geopolitical fissures present to India. Changes in great power relations have long term consequences and India has to make the right choices. He highlighted three dangers to guard against as India continues to rise viz., avoiding triumphalism, balancing tensions between ideology and pragmatism; values vs. interests in its foreign policy and, lastly, balancing nationalism and internationalism.
The first technical session on India in a Multi-polar World Order was chaired by Dr. Archana Negi, Associate Professor, Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, had four speakers from Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Central University of Jammu, Jammu and Panjab University, Chandigarh and four discussants from University of Mumbai, Mumbai, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, Gauhati University, Guwahati and Central University of Allahabad, Prayagraj. The speakers highlighted that India has always supported a rules-based international order and played a significant role in strengthening solidarity and partnership with the Global South and South – South Cooperation. India has repeatedly called for reform of the multilateral institutions to better reflect current geopolitical realities. In this context, the reform of the UN with the reform of the UN Security Council at its core is much needed. India is also partnering with like-minded countries to address challenges related to water, energy, transport, space, health, food security through new age coalitions such as the I2U2. The role of India’s soft power was highlighted in the session as an important element that should be deployed to further enhance India’s geopolitical influence and help strengthen universal values.
The second technical session on India’s Solidarity with the Global South was chaired by Dr. Dhananjay Tripathi, Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of International Relations, South Asian University, Delhi. The speakers in this session were from Manipal Academic of Higher Education, Manipal, South Asian University, Delhi, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar and IIT Guwahati, Guwahati. The discussants in the session were from Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University Sagar, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya and Central University of Himachal Pradesh. The speakers of the session underscored the importance of maritime security especially in the Indo-Pacific region. Emphasis was laid on the need to strengthen the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as an effective multilateral organisation to enhance cooperation in various areas such as Maritime Domain Awareness and to address non-traditional security threats. The session also highlighted how India can leverage its technological strengths to enhance its foreign policy goals through increased engagements with the Global South which views it as a long-standing, reliable partner. It was pointed out that as the Voice of the Global South, India has a number of advantages when compared to China such as its non-adversarial relations with the Global North and increased levels of trust and predictability in its foreign policy approaches.
The Conference also saw the participation of young scholars from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi University, Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi.
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